Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters from the musical 13, Batman, Courtyard Marriott, or anything else you're familiar with in this story. I do, however own Carson, so if you want to use him for one of your stories, please PM me to get the OK before doing so.

Five Month Later

"Archie, I've already told you that I'm leaving here at two and it takes three and a half hours to get to Indianapolis from Chicago, so I'll be there by five thirty or so." I told my best friend for the third time. I could tell he wasn't really listening to me.

"That's great, Pat. Do you think you could do me a favor? Do you think you can run by the airport on your way to your hotel? I've got to look after the shop while Kendra finishes unpacking the stuff at our new apartment." I sighed and moved my cell phone from my right ear to my left.

"I guess so…who am I picking up?" I asked with a small sigh. I love Kendra and Archie, I really do, but whenever I go to visit them, I'm always stuck running errands for one or both of them.

"Oh, just Evan." Archie said without thinking. He was obviously doing something else while talking to me, something that never ended well.

"What?" I asked, praying I heard him wrong. I was so shocked when I heard that I dropped the hair brush in my other hand.

"I said you're picking Evan up from the airport." Archie restated.

"Arch, you do remember Senior year don't you?"

"Of course I do, I spent most of it in the hospital…Oh." He said, clearing remembering now. "Patrice, you don't have to get him. I'll just send a cab for him, or I can see if Kendra could stop unpacking for an hour or so to pick him up…"

"No, no…Kendra needs to get your house ready and you've got to watch the shop. Evan probably doesn't know your address to tell the cab driver…I'll go get him. All that stuff happened eight years ago and I'll have to see him at the wedding anyway, so I might as well just bite the bullet and get seeing him over with now." I rambled, quickly packing my brush and dashing back to my bathroom to grab my tooth brush and tooth paste.

"Pat, if it's too weird for you, I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking a cab…" Archie offered.

"No, Arch. I've got this covered." I told him, packing the last of my things. "I'll be leaving soon, see you when I get there."

"Okay, see you."

"Oh, and Archie?" I paused and took a deep breath. "Is Evan bringing a date?" I asked in a quite voice.

"No. Last I heard, he hasn't dated much since you two broke up." Archie answered me without any humor in his voice.

"Oh okay." I told him.

"Bye, Patrice."

"Goodbye, Archie." I said, hanging up. Well, this week was about to get a lot more awkward.

I was beginning to get pretty impatient. Evan's plane was supposed to land half an hour ago, and I still haven't seen him. Maybe he decided to not go to the wedding after all? It was sure nice of him to call Archie and tell him. Please, note the sarcasm. I can't believe he's making me wait this long for him! Doesn't he know that I've got things to do? I can't just sit around waiting for him to get here all day! Maybe I should just leave-

"Patrice?" A quiet, deep voice that I hadn't heard in eight years asked. I turned around to see the familiar brown eyes that always made my heart melt.

"Hi, Evan." I said quietly, lowering my gaze. I couldn't look into his eyes without feeling bad about the past.

"Hi. Did you fly here too?" He asked, trying to break the awkward silence that I created.

"No, I drove. I'm actually here to pick you up and take you to Archie and Kendra's." I burnt holes into the floor.

"Oh, let's go then." He said. Without even making eye contact, I could tell he felt just as hurt and sad as I did.

"Okay." I said. A short twenty minutes later, we were seated in my car, driving down the busy streets of Indianapolis.

"So, Kendra mentioned you live in Chicago now…"

"Yeah, I work in a law firm."

"Oh, so you're a lawyer?"

"No…I'm just a secretary…"

"Oh."

"Yep." Back to the awkward silence. "I hear you're back in New York now."

"Yeah, I can't stay away from that city for too long."

"And you're a business man?"

"Sort of. I'm the CEO of a cell phone company there…y'know, Golden Mobile?" Oh, great. My ex-boyfriend is the owner of the cell phone company I use.

"My phone's actually a Golden Mobile."

"Really?"

"Yeah…" When did things get to be this awkward between us? Oh yeah, Senior year.

"So, have you heard from Lucy and Brett?" He asked.

"Yeah, a little bit. Lucy always sends me a Christmas card with Carson on it and she calls occasionally."

"He's eight now, right?"

"Yeah, he'll be turning nine in a few weeks. He's honestly the cutest thing ever. Have you seen a picture of him lately?" I asked with a smile on my face. I had actually sort of became friends with Lucy over the years. I think getting pregnant in high school sort of humbled her. She's actually sort of sweet now, especially when she's talking about Carson.

"Not recently."

"Hold on…" I said. Keeping my eyes on the road, I pulled a picture down from the visor above my head. I handed the picture to Evan.

"He looks just like Brett." Evan said. Even without looking at him, I could tell he was smiling. "Except…"

"Except he's got Lucy's hair and nose." I finished, taking the picture back from Evan.

"Yeah…you seem to like him a lot."

"Lucy loves talking about him and I guess it's rubbed off onto me. Plus, I've never had a little brother or sister or a kid of my own, so he was really the first baby that I've ever been around."

"That's sweet." I felt his eyes on me, so I turned my head to look at him for a second, before looking back at the road.

"What?" I asked him.

"It's sweet that you care about him so much."

"Like I said, I've never really been around kids and he's always so sweet to me. He's like the nephew I never had." It grew silent again, but this was more of a relaxed, enjoyable silence…until Evan broke it.

"I'm sorry, you know."

Even though I knew exactly what he was talking about, I still asked "For what?"

"For what happened eight years ago. You didn't deserve that, but you never gave me a chance to explain-"

"We're here." I interrupted him, pulling into a parking space in front of Kendra and Archie's flower shop.

"PAT! EVAN!" Archie shouted, crutching outside to meet us.

"Hey Archie." Evan said, walking over and hugging Archie. Archie hugged back to the best of his abilities.

"Hey Archie." I smiled, hugging him right after Evan.

"Kendra's inside. She got done unpacking early after all; she'll be so happy to see you two."

"EVAN! PATRICE!" Kendra squealed, running out of the shop next. She hugged both of us before wrapping an arm around Archie and smiling at all three of us.

"Come inside! Brett, Lucy, and Carson just got here a few minutes ago too!" Kendra ushered us inside, where we were hit with the sweet smell of many flowers combined. I smiled at the scent and looked longingly at the tulips (my favorite flower).

"LUCY! Guess who's here? It's Patrice and Evan!" Kendra screamed, walking towards a staircase.

"Patrice AND Evan? They're together?" Lucy asked, appearing at a door at the top of the staircase.

"No, Patrice picked Evan up at the airport!" Kendra explained while I turned red with embarrassment. Lucy nodded, before looking at right at me.

"Patrice!" She squealed like Kendra, running down the stairs and towards me. She hugged me tightly before letting me go and hugging Evan.

"BRETT! CARSON! Get down here!" She shouted. A few seconds later, a taller and (if possible) blonder Brett and a tinier, brunette version of him began walking down the stairs.

"Brain! Hey there, dude." Brett said, smiling at Evan as if he hadn't punched him in the nose years before.

"Hey, Brett." Evan said with a small wave. Carson looked at Evan with a confused expression, then shifted his gaze to me.

"Aunt Patrice!" He greeted me with a smile and a hug. I smiled and hugged him back. He was just shorter than my shoulders by about six inches and I could already tell he was going to be as tall as his father.

"Hey there, kiddo." I greeted him. Realizing he had yet to meet Evan, I turned him around and pointed at Evan. "That's Uncle Evan, Carson." I said with a smile. Brett only had one sister who lived in Florida and Lucy had no siblings, so from a young age, Carson had started calling all of their friends 'Aunt' and 'Uncle.' Lucy said it helped to give him a sense of family.

Carson stared at Evan for a second before nodding and smiling. "Hi, Uncle Evan." He said.

"Hey there, squirt." Evan said with a small smile. He raised an eye brow at me when Carson turned back around to look at me.

"Aunt Patrice, how long are you staying in Indian-Indiana-Indianap-"

"Indianapolis." Lucy helped, running a hand threw Carson's brown locks.

"Indianapolis. How long are you staying in Indianapolis with Aunt Kendra and Uncle Archie?" Carson asked. I smiled at him and also ran a hand threw his hair.

"I don't know, kiddo. Probably for the rest of the week or so. What about you?"

"Mom says that we're staying for two weeks to look after Uncle Archie and Aunt Kendra's flower shop while they go on their Honeymoon…whatever that is. Mom and Dad won't tell me."

"I'm sure they'll tell you when you're older." I comforted him.

"I hope so. How long are you staying, Uncle Evan?" Carson asked, turning to look at Evan, who I noticed was looking at me.

"About a week or so. I can't be away from work for too long." He half-apologized, looking sadly at Lucy and Brett.

"I know what you mean. It's a good thing cheerleading's pretty much over for Luce. I had a pretty hard time finding someone to substitute for my gym classes for two weeks." Brett said, wrapping an arm around Lucy.

"Mom made me bring all my makeup work with me, so I don't get a vacation." Carson complained. We all laughed and smiled at him.

"Well, you all should go back to your hotels and unpack. I'm sorry you all couldn't stay in our apartment, but it just wasn't made to hold seven people!" Kendra apologized.

"It's fine, Kendra. Besides, C's excited to swim in the hotel's pool, aren't you Carson?" He asked, smiling at his son.

"I sure am! Mom even got me Batman swim trunks!" He said, grinning proudly. Carson thought for a second before turning to Evan. "Uncle Evan, are you Batman? Because you live in New York, you're always working, and you live alone…at least that's what Mom says. But, you came here with Aunt Patrice so…are you two married? Or are you Batman?" Even I felt my face fall when Carson asked if I was married Evan. If all the stuff hadn't happened Senior year, I probably would be married to Evan by now. Evan's eyes widened and Lucy looked embarrassed.

"Carson, don't be silly! Uncle Evan's not Batman and he's not dating Aunt Patrice…and I never said that stuff about him…"

"I'm not being silly! And you did too say that stuff! Remember when you were on the phone with Aunt Charlotte? I remember you telling her that she should 'go for him' at the wedding, 'since they're both single and Uncle Evan's rich!'"

"Shhh! Carson!" Lucy said, turning bright red. I glanced over at Evan, who looked just as embarrassed as I felt. I can't believe Lucy told Charlotte to go for Evan!

"Maybe we should just go before this gets anymore awkward." Brett said, glancing back and forth between his wife, Evan, and I.

"Good idea." Lucy mumbled.

"Bye Kendra! See you at dinner tonight! Bye Archie!" Lucy said, grabbing Carson's hand.

"Bye Uncle Archie! Bye Aunt Kendra!" He shouted before following his mother out of the flower shop.

"Bye guys!" Brett said, leaving as well.

"Well, we should probably go too…" Evan said, awkwardly scratching his neck.

"Yeah…" I agreed, looking again at the tulips.

"Bye, Kendra. Bye Arch." I said, hugging my friends again before exiting the flower shop. Evan walked out a minute later.

"So, which hotel are you staying at?" I asked as I started my car's engine.

"Courtyard Marriott. You?" Oh, great…

"The same one."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…" Would things ever be not awkward between us?

A/N: Wow I haven't written in almost a year...let's forget about that, shall we? Good. This chapter was sort of a filler in case you couldn't tell. It was also pretty fluffy, with all the cuteness that little Carson brings. He's so adorable. Anyway, I know everyone's pretty OOC and no way would Lucy ever actually be that nice, but in my story she is. I mean, she had a baby when she was in high school, but she had it with the man she loves and she loves her kid more than anything else. Also, she's still on good terms with her old best friend and her old enemy and she's got a job coaching her favorite sport. As far as I can tell, Lucy's got a pretty good life. So yeah, a life like that can turn even the meanest girl into a sweetheart. And Patrice is a bit more bitter/badass in the story because of all the crap she went through as a Senior. Evan's probably a bit weirder because I'm not good at writing for him...and Brett's kind of the same chill dude he used to be. So yeah, end extremely long Author's Note!